Rare Titanic Photos and Handwritten Letters Surface

An incredible and rare collection of photos and handwritten letters acquired from the decendants of Titanic survivors John and Nelle Pillsbury Snyder will go on auction Friday Oct. 21.

The Snyders were some of the first people to board lifeboats and were later rescued by the Carpathia, the first ship to arrive at the Titanic disaster scene on the morning of April 15, 1912. They were returning from their honeymoon when the tragedy struck.

The Snyders lived in Minneapolis, Minn., and were first class passengers on the ship, occupying cabin B-45. They were rescued on lifeboat 7.

The photos, however, were actually taken by newlyweds James and Mabel Fenwick who chose the Cunard Line's Carpathia for their voyage. They were to have a front-row seat to history. Copies of their original photos were then passed along to the Snyders.

The collection will be sold by Philip Weiss Auctions. The archive includes a letter on Titanic stationary dated April 10, 1912, photos of the Snyders, another Letter dated April 18, which tells of the confusion from news sources and the White Star Line at the time of the sinking, a group of original photos taken from the Carpathia showing lifeboats rowing toward the ship, and other original photos of what appears to be the Californian steaming towards the Carpathia.

In an attempt to prevent the person from committing suicide, Avleen K. Mokha in her Facebook post wrote, "Don't go ahead with this tonight. There's more in life to look forward to beyond tonight. Please be there to see it."